IAF

Remembering: Gummersbach

How It Began

I've taken two online seminars with IAF during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were online because many of us could not even get out of the house because of movement restrictions to stop the spread of the virus.

The two seminars were insightful. The facilitators and guest speakers were brilliant, and so were the participants. We - the facilitators and participants - learnt from each other.

The facilitators and IAF coordinators would talk about Gummersbach during the online session. For me, who had never been there, the place had a strange spelling name that I could not pronounce.

When the Day Finally Comes

The opportunity to visit Gummersbach came when I was selected to participate in "Safeguarding Freedom in the Digital World: Big Tech, Bots & the Future of Democracy?"

Gummersbach turned out to be a small town in Germany, which is about a 40-minute drive from Cologne. 

I was asked during the seminar which part of the seminar that I liked. In no particular order, I would list:

The guest speakers and lectures.

Who wouldn't be mesmerised by topics such as Beyond Happy Clappy Dancing: The Dark Side of TikTok, Protect Yourself in the Surveillance Age, and The Future of Money.

The facilitators, participants, and guest speakers.

Like my two online seminars, we learned from each other face to face. Everyone brought their experience and expertise from their countries (such as Ghana, Colombia, Palestine, Israel, Taiwan, Estonia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Jordan).

Gummersbach.

It is the ideal place for learning. It is a quiet campus. However, there were non-academic distractions (not including the karaoke session by the participants at night, the two supermarkets nearby or the football kickabout).

We built comradeship during our 12 days in Gummersbach and cities like Cologne, Frankfurt and Heidelberg. Now, I know how to pronounce - Gummersbach.

The learning has not stopped. Our Discord group is still active, with updates from friends worldwide.